The best hotels in Hell’s Kitchen

Just steps from the chaos of Times Square and a few avenues away from the Hudson River, you’ll find the best hotels in Hell’s Kitchen, clustered around a vibrant stretch of Ninth Avenue filled with fine dining restaurants, cheap eats and Manhattan’s trendiest gayborhood. Booking a hotel in this neighborhood lets you take advantage of all this and more. The further west you go, the newer the developments, but the best part of Hell’s Kitchen is that it still retains (at least for now) a touch of that urban grittiness New Yorkers love.

Best hotels in Hell’s Kitchen

It may feel like it, but you’re not headed for a swim in the Hudson River to get to Jersey when you trek to 11th Avenue. But the Kimpton Ink48 Hotel is where you’ll want to check in for everything from a cocktail on the chic rooftop bar to a gourmet farm-to-table meal at the hotel’s underrated restaurant PRINT. There’s a boutique vibe at this Kimpton property, where a recent renovation has given rooms a brighter, more-modern look with artistic touches that nod to the building’s printing house past.

The escalator transporting guests from the glowing neon green lights at street level into this Philippe Starck-design hotel is your entryway into a hub of nightlife. A dimly-lit cavernous common space includes paths that lead to a large beer hall on one side and an ivy-filled garden in another. Rooms are New York in size (aka, tiny), but in warmer months, you can escape to the 15th floor for the Skylight Terrace to stretch out on the hammocks with skyline views.

There’s no butler greeting you at the door once you arrive at the Jetson-like YOTEL just blocks from the heart of Times Square. Guests check-in at a kiosk and there’s even the towering YOBOT, a robot that can store your luggage away. Unlike the miniscule cabins at this brand’s other airport-based hotels, you’ll find sleek rooms with all the amenities, from rotating round beds in the larger suites to hot tubs on private terraces.

While it may target an LGBT clientele, The Out Hotel embraces all guests at this Hell’s Kitchen oasis. The open spaces—from a bamboo garden to the Spa Atrium—gives the hotel a laid back vibe. If you’re looking for a more buzzy scene, The Lindeman restaurant next door offers a lively bar, and the 42West Nightclub offers up weekly drag shows.

Convenience—to Times Square and Broadway, the ethnic restaurants along Ninth Avenue, and its proximity to Lincoln Center—is only one reason to book a room at the Washington Jefferson Hotel. The variety of rooms in this boutique hotel, from superior rooms with tubs to smaller ones with minimal decoration, make it an ideal getaway from the throngs of tourists just blocks away from the hotel.